Closer/Transcript
NARRATOR: "I can't find Shizune at first, but eventually she walks into the main part of the house, sipping a glass of ice water and dangling her glasses back and forth from her free hand. She whips them on as soon as she sees me." SHIZUNE: (signing) "You didn't rescue Hideaki. That means you don't get the bonus points. If you were also being graded on style, I'd have to deduct points for a booooooring escape." HISAO: (signing) "It looked like you wanted to talk to me, I didn't know I had to be stylish about it. You know, some say that the most stylish people are the ones that don't try too hard to look cool." SHIZUNE: (signing) "You're really cool." NARRATOR: "I wonder how is it that I can pick up on her sarcasm so easily, and how hard it might have been for her to learn the concept of sarcasm without being able to hear. I can't imagine it." HISAO: (signing) "You seem like you're in a good mood." NARRATOR: "Although I guess it isn't really a good mood. It's more that she seems very excited." SHIZUNE: (signing) "I'm in a bad mood." NARRATOR: "Setting her drink down, Shizune sits down on the couch." SHIZUNE: (signing) "I liked her regular hairstyle so much more. It looked so pretty. It was refined and meticulous. Now she looks too sporty and tomboyish." HISAO: (signing) "I wouldn't call Misha refined and meticulous. That sounds more like you. You should give it a chance. Grow your hair out and make it look like drills. Hm... actually, maybe this suits you just fine." NARRATOR: "Shizune rubs the frame of her glasses roughly, looking annoyed at the implications behind what I just signed to her. That's fine, because I was totally implying that. She moves a little closer to me when I take a seat." SHIZUNE: (signing) "I'm a tomboy?" HISAO: (signing) "Well, no one would call you a tomboy. ...Based on appearances." NARRATOR: "Shizune glares at me, unamused. I have to fight to keep a straight face." HISAO: (signing) "Maybe you two should trade haircuts anyway." SHIZUNE: "..." SHIZUNE: (signing) "You sound like my father." NARRATOR: "It's true. Shizune giggles noiselessly when she sees my displeasure at the realization. Jumping to her feet, she twirls an invisible sword in her left hand while standing up militarily straight and grimacing. A terrifyingly accurate impression." SHIZUNE: (signing) "Anyway, I don't take advice from anyone who wears a blue sweater with brown pants. Where's your sense of color coordination? Dreadful. ...But changing my haircut, that might be fun. Wouldn't it be? I want to see how everyone would react." HISAO: (signing) "You must really like playing with people. Sometimes, I think, a little too much." NARRATOR: "No answer. The way she fiddles with her glasses, brow furrowed, tells me that it's because she can't." SHIZUNE: (signing) "It's fun." NARRATOR: "Then, with more confidence and while pulling herself closer to me:" SHIZUNE: (signing) "It's fun to drag more and more people into my life." HISAO: (signing) "Oh, I see." NARRATOR: "I wonder if I'm included in that number. I want to ask, but am not even sure how I would. Shizune wags a finger preemptively, indicating that she won't be answering such a question anyway. She reaches for her glass, but doesn't seem to realize how far she's managed to inch away from it all this time. To prevent herself from tipping over clumsily, Shizune tries to grab on to me, and ends up pulling me on top of her." NARRATOR: "As I lean over her, I can feel the heat coming off her body and realize how close we are. I can hear her soft breathing and the slight rustling of her clothes as she momentarily fidgets about. A blush starts to creep into her cheeks, but her eyes stare straight into mine, dark and unblinking. It's the same look from the first time I saw her, piercing and devoid of any clear emotions. Just waiting to see what will happen next, like the eyes of a cat. It makes me feel uncomfortable, being looked at in such a way. This is the first time I've been so close to her for an extended period of time, and the mood is different now. The situation now isn't the same as a passing touching of hands or her and Misha's usual games. Shizune's fingers weave together tentatively, but she makes no move to sign. The look in her eyes isn't just nothing, like I'd thought. It's more like expectation. I wonder if maybe I've been following the string of her expectations this entire time." NARRATOR: "I feel her grabbing me by the shoulders and then gently, but firmly, pushing me off of her. I roll sideways onto the soft couch and pull myself into a sitting position less than a foot from her. The way I feel, she might as well have thrown me ten yards. When I think about it, this is perhaps one of the biggest drawbacks to sign language. Shizune said that the fact that you have to sign your words out with your hands means you have time to reflect on what you say before you say it. But on the other hand, it also means that what would normally just be an awkward silence becomes an insurmountable wall. I'd just blurt out something, anything, to try and dispel the tension I'm feeling right now if I could, but I can't. Ordinarily, I think that what would be normal would be to apologize, and maybe leave. But right now, I wonder if that is even applicable. I can't get past how guilty such an action would seem. Like I were just slinking away. Of course, it's not like I can just play it off like nothing happened, either. That would just be insulting to both of us. So, as much as I don't want to, I apologize quickly, so quickly I forget to sign it. Then I go back to my room." NARRATOR: "Sighing, I let myself fall backwards into bed. I wish I could just go to sleep right now, but I feel wide awake. I sit up when I hear the door closing and open my eyes to see Shizune sitting in the chair in front of me." SHIZUNE: "..." NARRATOR: "She asks a question that goes right over my head, due to my surprise. It's not a feeling I'm good at concealing, and I don't think it's what she intended. Whatever she was saying, she backs off, and doesn't attempt to sign again for a while." SHIZUNE: (signing) "This is the first time I've been in your room." NARRATOR: "Shizune tents her fingers and puts on an exaggerated attempt to make herself look embarrassed and modest at the thought. I can't appreciate the joke, just the fact that she's here has me feeling a bit scattered." HISAO: (signing) "Very funny. It isn't even my room. It's your guest room." If Shizune saw Hisao's room (in Act 1: "Home Field Advantage")= HISAO: (signing) "Besides, you and Misha barged into my room once before." NARRATOR: "It seems as if she expects me to say more. I remember feeling very panicked when they burst into my room, afraid of what conclusions they would jump to seeing the wall of pills lining the place. I don't think that Shizune remembers, though." SHIZUNE: (signing) "It made you nervous."|-| If Shizune has never seen Hisao's room= SHIZUNE: (signing) "You still looked startled when I came in."|-| NARRATOR: "The way she says it so factually stings me." HISAO: (signing) "A lot of things make me nervous. You're one of them." SHIZUNE: "...?" HISAO: (signing) "Because you're overeager to always get people involved in... whatever you're doing. Whether it's joining the Student Council, or even taking a break. Whether they want to or not." SHIZUNE: "..." SHIZUNE: "... ... ... ..." SHIZUNE: "... ..." NARRATOR: "She signs almost at a crawl, her hands pausing mid-sentence far too much, causing the words to dissipate formlessly before I can even begin to try to understand them. I try not to let on that this is the case. It seems to work, but she looks a little sad, and I regret that I have nothing to say to snap her from the strangely wistful and distant expression she is wearing. All I can do is wait for her to come out of it." SHIZUNE: (signing) "You are right. I want to drag everyone into my life. But, lately, I'm no longer sure if it's the right thing to do." HISAO: (signing) "I enjoyed you taking me to your favorite restaurant the other night." SHIZUNE: (signing) "It's not like that was my favorite restaurant... I have others I like. I might even be able to rank them by number." HISAO: (signing) "Really..." SHIZUNE: (signing) "This chair is so hard. I want to sit on the bed." NARRATOR: "Motioning to her to go ahead, I wait for her to get off the chair and take her place when she does. Though I didn't intend for it to be, she finds it amusing." SHIZUNE: (signing) "Close your eyes." HISAO: (signing) "Why?" SHIZUNE: (signing) "It's a surprise." NARRATOR: "I decide to humor her and close them. I can feel her leaning over me, and suddenly, something soft and moist touches my lips. My body tenses up in surprise. Fortunately, not as awkward a reaction as I could have made. It was just a quick peck, and I almost think that's the end of it, but then she kisses me again, more deeply this time. Her hands slide onto my shoulders, up to my neck, and then back down again. Then across my shoulders and down my arms. I can feel the weight of her body on my legs, and the eroticism of the situation isn't lost on me. At this point, I'm ready to try and open my eyes just a crack, but as if expecting it, she puts her fingers on my eyelids." NARRATOR: "Seconds later, something ties my hands together at the wrists, and I panic, not knowing what to make of this. My first thought is to ask Shizune what she's thinking. Even though she can't hear me, I'm sure she gets the gist of it. She won't let go of my hands, tracing her fingers over them, from the lines of my palms, over my knuckles, and to my wrists." HISAO: "Hey, what are you doing? What's this?" NARRATOR: "Or course, with my hands tied behind my back, I might as well be gagged. A part of me can't help but think that this is what she intended." NARRATOR: "As if reading my thoughts, a mischievous expression lights up her face, but her blushing doesn't fade. In fact, it only deepens when our eyes meet. Embarrassed, she leans deeper into our partial embrace, hiding her face by burying it in my shoulder and neck. Her hair is soft and tickles me, and I let out a laugh knowing that she won't hear me; won't be offended." NARRATOR: "Afterwards, I listen to the sound of my heartbeat slowing down until it reaches its normal rhythm. I listen to the sound of Shizune's breathing as it does the same. Her glasses are slightly askew, and this is the first time she isn't messing around with them in some way. I want to straighten them for her, but the second I try, I'm reminded that I can't. Shizune seems to have forgotten it as well. Instead of getting up, she presses herself against me in the chair to extend her reach. It's almost as if this is the only position she can think to untie my hands from. That is what I think as I feel her unbinding my wrists." NARRATOR: "However, she doesn't get off me. Her fingers gently stroke against mine, occasionally bending inwards to run over my palms. It's funny, but I feel more connected to Shizune through this simple act than before. Shizune stays pressed against me like this for some time. It's a little uncomfortable, but it makes me feel happy, as if I could stay like this for hours." Next Scene: Confrontation Category:Shizune Scenes Category:Scenes in Shizune's Route Category:Act 3 Transcripts Category:Act 3 - Sleight of Hand Transcripts